The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday charged the Congress-led government with pursuing an "ad-hoc" policy on Kashmir and demanded that it take the people into confidence on how it would deal with Pakistan on the issue.

Taking exception to the decision to downscale troop deployment in Kashmir, BJP president L.K. Advani said cross-border terrorism was still "alive and kicking" in the state, a rude reminder of which was the terrorist attack in Srinagar during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit Nov 17.

Advani was addressing the opening day's session of the BJP's three-day national executive meeting here.

He said some of the pronouncements and actions of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government reflected dilution of clarity and commitment on how to safeguard India's national interests.

He was referring to the joint statement issued after the September meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in New York in which the BJP says New Delhi failed to secure a commitment from Islamabad on checking cross-border terrorism.

Besides, the BJP chief said he was concerned about Manmohan Singh's statement that "all options are open" on Kashmir, in response to which Musharraf's had proposed dividing Jammu and Kashmir in seven parts on religious and regional lines.

 "The Minister for External Affairs (K. Natwar Singh) responded to this suggestion by saying that India was willing to consider this proposal if it was presented in a formal manner," Advani noted.

"The BJP flays this kind of kite-flying and ad-hocism on the part of the UPA government on a vital issue like Kashmir," he said, demanding that the government take the people and the parliament into confidence on how it proposed to deal with Pakistan on the issue.

--Indo-Asian News Service